Sponsor Q & A: Didymos

Didymos was founded by Erika Hoffmann in 1972 in Germany. The company is a Contributing Sponsor for The Wrap Show 2017. In the following interview, Tina Hoffmann, Erika’s daughter and the company’s managing director, shares more about Didymos.

How did Didymos come to be?

Erika Hoffmann, founder of Didymos and our mother, was always fascinated when reading about cultures worldwide where mothers pursued their daily work in a most simple way, all while intimately carrying their children in carrying cloths and carriers.

As a mother of four young children, two of them twins, she remembered that friends had sent her such a carrying cloth and decided to give it a try. She quickly recognised the benefits! It was so much easier to go about her daily routine, looking after the older children, all while keeping the little ones content and secure in the midst of all household activities.

She experimented with the new cloth until she found the right tying method and fit. Very soon she was the talk of the village, but not all of it was positive. She persisted, rewarded by seeing us smile when she carried us in turns. She felt assured that the two little ones received as much warmth and contact as their brother and sister had when they were babies, carried in her arms.

When the “Heilbronner Stimme” and “Stern” magazines published articles about Erika Hoffmann, parents all over Germany also wanted carrying cloths. And so began the Didymos story.

What drew you to the world of wraps initially?

For my mother, it was her deep wish to share the undisputable benefits of babywearing with other parents. For us, it is still the same, even with babywearing being much more commonplace than it used to be during the first 30 years of Didymos.

What inspires you in your work?

There is so much! It is in working with the Didymos team, in the wonderful feedback we receive from our customers and retailers and in hearing the stories of the many babies who have benefited from being carried by their parents. This is all very heartwarming to us.

Why do you think wraps are so important for parents and children?

Baby wraps help parents provide the close physical contact between baby and caregiver so necessary for optimal child development, both emotionally and physically. Studies show that as a direct result of being carried, babies develop a greater sense of security, trust and independence.

There is also the hands-free advantage and the freedom a wrap provides to move about unencumbered, without a pram. Wraps truly are the most versatile when it comes to babywearing. There are so many options with a single wrap, from carrying positions, to countless tying variations, to ultimate adjustability for babies of all ages and wearers of all sizes.

What is your favourite part about using woven wraps personally?

It has to be the perfect fit provided by a wrap, regardless of baby’s age and size, as well as the variety of carrying options available. Nothing beats a woven wrap!

How do you encourage new parents who are interested but hesitant to try wrapping?

We encourage new parents to try wrapping for themselves. The Front-Wrap-Cross Carry is quite simple and easy to teach, and it makes the length of a long wrap seem much more manageable for new wrappers. We also suggest attending a local babywearing meeting, if available, to get more acquainted with tying methods and to talk with other new parents about their experiences.

Didymos is happy to answer any questions and to provide any support that parents might need. Many of the Didymos employees are experienced babywearers and are happy to help. Didymos also offers babywearing training courses for those who are interested.

What’s most exciting or satisfying about working in this industry?

We are particularly excited about seeing how babywearing has become a common part of parenting today. I very well remember the times when babywearing was not at all accepted and it used to be a struggle to convince people. We are very passionate about sharing the many benefits of babywearing, and so we find many aspects of our work very rewarding. Any work is satisfying if one is convinced that what s/he is doing is the right thing. We are also very proud to be a family-friendly business for our employees, to provide education and work experience for our interns/apprentices, of working closely with women’s shelters and for keeping our entire manufacturing process local.

Where do you see Didymos in five years? Ten years?

In Ludwigsburg! 🙂

Actually, we feel blessed to have made valuable connections in many countries around the world. We plan to continue to develop these connections in an attempt to promote and encourage the many avid supporters of the Didymos brand. We will also continue to support the growing number babywearing educators that donate so much of their precious time to help others in their babywearing adventures. Did we already say that we love what we do?

What experience do you hope for Didymos customers? In other words, what do you hope to accomplish or inspire through your work?

We wish to spread the babywearing love more and more. There is no better reward from our work than happy, relaxed parents with their content babies. Furthermore, through our value of ethically sourced materials and fabrics and local manufacturing, it is our hope that we can raise awareness about the importance of preserving the health of the planet and its inhabitants.

Is there anything new about Didymos or its products that you’d like to share?

We are playing with new fibres, wraps and patterns with a particular size to make wrapping even easier but keeping the wrap fashionable.